Enda, the first African company to manufacture professional running shoes, has secured $ 1 million in Series A funding to expand its product lines and distribution.
The funding round will also allow the high-performance shoe company to partner with East African Breweries Limited (EABL) to create a locally sourced running-inspired sneaker called Mwanzo.
A statement on PR Newswire said the funding included several Kenyan angel investors and was led by Talanton, a US-based impact investment fund focused on companies in developing countries.
“We are delighted with this investment,” said Iris Wen, Partner at Talanton. “Enda fits perfectly with our mission to invest in businesses that create high quality jobs, especially in places where those jobs have the most impact in creating opportunity and reducing poverty. The fact that they are able to do this while satisfying customers around the world means that they are ready to grow and make a real difference in the world, ”Wen added.
“We have worked hard to fulfill orders as thousands of people around the world are discovering our shoes. It is an exciting time for our company, ”said Enda co-founder and CEO Navalayo Osembo. “Now is the time for us to invest in growth and help even more people run Kenyan in 2022.”
Enda was co-founded by Osembo, lawyer and accountant. She had her dream job working for the United Nations, but decided to leave it all behind to set up Africa’s first high performance athletic shoe manufacturing company in her home country of Kenya.
Osembo followed his passion and improved his life to found Enda with his co-founder Weldon Kennedy, a social activist and running shoe nerd. The couple met in 2015 during discussions about how Kenyans can benefit from their running culture.
Kenya is known around the world for producing some of the best runners on the continent. As the machines are in Germany, Nava wants Kenyans to also monetize what they’re good at – running – and what better way to do that than to create athletic running shoes, designed with Kenyan athletes, while creating jobs and giving back to the community.
Enda means “Go! In Swahili, a language spoken in Kenya and other East African countries. The company was officially registered in 2017 in Kenya.
The company is proud to be the only manufacturer of running shoes on the continent and currently has around 90% of its consumers in the United States, 8% in Europe and the rest in Kenya.
Enda uses Kenyans to make the shoes and tries to source most of its parts locally. However, the local supply chain is not conducive and the company hopes it will change over time. Currently, Enda sources around 80% of its materials from Kenya and the rest from China.
